Drawbacks
by BunniesOfDoom
Summary: Being homeschooled for most of your life has its drawbacks. Sickfic.
1. Fighting Flu Season

Written for a request I got for a poor sick Adrien unprepared for the onslaught of cold and flu season. Content warning for vomit. Enjoy!

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One of the many drawbacks of being homeschooled is that Adrien was never exposed to illness as a child. He remains blissfully unaware of the dreaded cold and flu season. So when a nasty stomach flu starts going around the school, Adrien fails to take the necessary precautions.

Usually, Adrien is already awake when Natalie comes to wake him for school, too excited about seeing his friends to sleep in. This morning, he's still sound asleep when she knocks on his door. "Adrien? Time to get up. We're leaving in half an hour."

"Huh?" Adrien raises his head groggily. "I'll be down in a minute," he mutters, rolling over and hauling his uncooperative body out of bed. A wave of dizziness hits him as he's getting dressed, but Adrien dismisses it as just low blood sugar and gets dressed as quickly as possible. He still feels like he's half asleep, and he keeps getting tangled in his clothes. The usual grace he possesses as Chat Noir is completely absent today.

His appetite is nonexistent when he goes down for breakfast, but he forces himself to choke down a few bites anyway and drink some water. Natalie is frowning at him, concerned by his lack of enthusiasm. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he replies instantly. It's the truth; it has to be. A little upset stomach isn't enough to keep him from seeing his friends. "Let's go."

Adrien had been hoping that he'd feel better after eating a little breakfast, but unfortunately, that's not the case. He still feels a bit lightheaded and with each turn that the car makes, he feels more and more nauseous. When the car arrives at the school he practically barrel-rolls out, so incredibly grateful to be standing still. Forcing himself to take a few deep breaths, he writes it off as motion sickness and heads to class.

"You look like death," Nino says in lieu of a greeting when he arrives.

Adrien lifts his head from the desk to look at his friend. "I'm fine, really."

"You look really pale," Alya points out. "I hope that you didn't catch that stomach bug that's been going around. Even Marinette, standing next to her, looks worried about him, rather than her usual terrified expression.

At the mention of illness, Adrien's stomach lurches unpleasantly. He swallows hard. "I'm okay, just a little tired." None of them look like they believe him, but they leave him alone for now.

Class is nothing short of torture. Adrien is unable to focus on anything besides the ever-increasing nausea, and the classroom is absolutely freezing today. Normally he's an attentive student; today, Nino shakes him awake no less than three times. He's pretty sure that there's no way that this day can get any worse.

Nino shakes him awake again, and Adrien suddenly becomes aware of the other students whispering. Something about another akuma. He almost groans out loud. Instead, he raises his hand and asks to go to the restroom.

Adrien never thought that there'd be a time when he didn't want to transform, but now, trembling with fever chills and his stomach roiling, he has no desire to go help Ladybug. But Chat Noir doesn't take sick days, so Adrien grits his teeth and calls for Plagg to transform. He's pretty sure that the small cat tries to protest, but he pays him no mind.

The battle with the akuma is a blur. Chat has no idea how he managed to get to Ladybug's side or how he's still fighting when he feels like death. He knows that he's clumsier than normal, but the beauty of working as a team is that he's not alone. Eventually (it takes way longer than usual) they defeat and trap the akuma.

Ladybug purifies the butterfly while Chat does his best not to collapse where he's standing. Each jump and flip had jolted his already uneasy stomach, and it's taking all of his willpower to not throw up right now.

"Are you okay, Chat?" Ladybug's voice jerks him out of his miserable stupor. They're out of sight now, and Adrien realizes that he's stopped and doubled over with his arms around his abdomen.

He opens his mouth to reply, and it's a mistake. His stomach is forcing its way up his throat. He panics momentarily (I can't throw up in front of Ladybug!), but it's too late.

Chat lurches forward with a heave and his stomach contents splatter the pavement. He gags relentlessly, despite his stomach being mostly empty already. When he finally catches his breath and becomes more aware of his surroundings, he notices a small hand rubbing his back. "Are you feeling any better?" Ladybug. She just saw him puke everywhere.

He wants to spontaneously combust, or maybe sink into the depths of the earth and never emerge. "I'm fine," he insists, shakily wiping his mouth.

"You look pretty sick," Ladybug disagrees, her blue eyes sharp with concern. "I guess both you and my friend have pretty bad luck." Before Chat can process what she just said, she keeps talking. "Are you going to be okay to make it home?" She looks torn between insisting on helping him get home safely and keeping their civilian identities safe.

"Yeah, I'll just take the streets."

She doesn't look very convinced, but accepts his answer. "Be safe, okay? I hope that you feel better soon!"

After she's gone, Chat stares at the ground below and sighs. It's going to be a long trek home, and his father is not going to be happy.

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	2. Fever Dreams

Written for the prompt "Please get better soon. I can't stand to see you this way." Enjoy!

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Has the walk home always been this long?

Adrien knows that it's a bit of a drive from school to his house, but making his way back after the fight with the akuma is taking forever. It's been at least an hour since he convinced Ladybug that he wouldn't die on his way home, and each step seems to take more energy from his already drained body. He's alternating between shivering and feeling like his skin is on fire, and the buildings around him are hazy and blurred.

By the time his front door comes into sight, his legs are wobbling and he's weaving on his feet, unable to walk in a straight line. He'd thrown up several more times on his journey home, ducking into deserted back alleyways and hoping and praying that there weren't any paparazzi or nosy fans around to see him.

He floats over to the gate and lets himself in. As soon as he sets one foot inside he can hear his father's angry voice, probably demanding where he's been. Adrien is too dizzy and dazed to make out what he's saying, but the sharp tone sends a shock of pain through his head.

"Hey dad," he mumbles, tongue thick and heavy in his mouth. His words slur together, but he's too lightheaded to care. He's home. He made it. He can finally stop.

Black spots fill his vision, and his ears start ringing as his father frowns at him, genuine concern interrupting his furious tirade. "Adrien?"

The room is too hot, and the walls swirl around him as he stares in fascination. He feels a hand on his shoulder, shaking him slightly, before the looming blackness overwhelms him.

It's pitch-black the next time he opens his eyes, and it takes him longer than it should to realize that it's because the lights are off. He immediately goes to sit up, scrabbling at the sheets and pillows, but a wave of dizziness knocks him back to the bed, gasping. It's easy to lose track of how long he just lays there, taking deep breaths in attempt to stave off the wooziness and returning nausea. The room is freezing, and he bunches the sheets around him as much as possible without looking, sighing happily at the additional warmth.

The next time he dares to open his eyes and look around, there's a figure standing over the bed. He notices that it's a dark-haired girl and initially assumes that it's Natalie, coming in to check on him, but even in the middle of the night his powers still allow him to see. He'd recognize Ladybug's striking spotted suit anywhere.

"Ladybug?" he murmurs, hardly daring to believe his eyes. "What're you doing here?" He's too sick and dazed to think about the fact that he's a sweaty, feverish mess. With bed head for days.

She presses a gentle hand to his forehead and frowns. Adrien sighs in relief at the coolness against his skin. "A friend told me that you were sick. And wow, you're really burning up! Here, drink some water." She hands him a glass from the bedside table.

Water has never tasted so good. Adrien's first instinct is to gulp it down, despite the disgusting taste in his mouth. His mouth is a desert in the full heat of summer: dry. But Ladybug makes him take slow sips. "Don't want you to make yourself sick again," she scolds gently.

Adrien would wonder what she's talking about, but then she places a cool wet cloth on his forehead and all reasonable trains of thought are halted in favor of basking in the cold feeling of relief. His eyes close without him realizing, and soon he's hovering on the precipice of falling asleep.

He feels someone brushing his bangs back and readjusting the cloth on his forehead. "Please get better soon. I can't stand to see you this way," Ladybug murmurs sadly. Her voice is like a lullaby. It's the gentlest he's ever heard her sound.

When he wakes up in the morning, his fever has broken and the sun is streaming through his curtains. The cold washcloth from last night is lying on the floor and his sheets are a tangled mess.

For a brief moment, he wonders if he really did see Ladybug last night, before laughing to himself. It was probably just a fever dream, and in reality Natalie came in to make sure he didn't die in his sleep.

Still, he muses to himself, Ladybug taking care of him was nice. Even if it's only in his dreams.

Three days later, Marinette comes down with the flu.

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